Rivers and streams between the Oregon border and Humboldt Bay that empty into the Pacific Ocean (arranged north to south; tributaries with those entering nearest the sea first). Bold indicates rivers with more detailed lists in following sections.

Primary streams entering Humboldt Bay are listed north to south beginning north of the entrance to the bay and continuing in a clockwise direction. Tributaries entering nearest the bay are listed first.[1][2]

Streams that empty into San Francisco Bay or its tributary bays (arranged clockwise, starting at the north side of the Golden Gate; tributaries are listed from those entering nearest the bays to farthest).

1.
River
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A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water, small rivers can be referred to using names such as stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill. There are no official definitions for the term river as applied to geographic features. Many names for small rivers are specific to geographic location, examples are run in parts of the United States, burn in Scotland and northeast England. Sometimes a river is defined as being larger than a creek, but not always, Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle. Potamology is the study of rivers while limnology is the study of inland waters in general. Extraterrestrial rivers of liquid hydrocarbons have recently found on Titan. Channels may indicate past rivers on other planets, specifically outflow channels on Mars and rivers are theorised to exist on planets, a river begins at a source, follows a path called a course, and ends at a mouth or mouths. The water in a river is confined to a channel. In larger rivers there is also a wider floodplain shaped by flood-waters over-topping the channel. Floodplains may be wide in relation to the size of the river channel. This distinction between river channel and floodplain can be blurred, especially in areas where the floodplain of a river channel can become greatly developed by housing. Rivers can flow down mountains, through valleys or along plains, the term upriver refers to the direction towards the source of the river, i. e. against the direction of flow. Likewise, the term describes the direction towards the mouth of the river. The term left bank refers to the bank in the direction of flow. The river channel typically contains a stream of water, but some rivers flow as several interconnecting streams of water. Extensive braided rivers are now found in only a few regions worldwide and they also occur on peneplains and some of the larger river deltas. Anastamosing rivers are similar to braided rivers and are quite rare

2.
U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance

3.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565

4.
Trinity River (California)
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The Trinity River is a major river in northwestern California in the United States, and is the principal tributary of the Klamath River. The Trinity flows for 165 miles through the Klamath Mountains and Coast Ranges, with an area of nearly 3,000 square miles in Trinity. Designated a National Wild and Scenic River, along most of its course the Trinity flows swiftly through tight canyons, the river is known for its once prolific runs of anadromous fish, notably Chinook salmon and steelhead, which sustained Native American tribes for thousands of years. Due to its remoteness, the Trinity did not feature prominently in the early European colonization of California, the river was named by Major Pierson B. Reading who, upon reaching the river in 1848, mistakenly believed it to flow into the Pacific Ocean at Trinidad Bay, in the following decades logging and ranching, combined with mining runoff, significantly changed the rivers ecology and led to the decline of its fish populations. Since 1964 the Trinity River has been dammed to create Trinity Lake, as much as 90 percent of the upper Trinity River watershed was diverted for agriculture in the Central Valley. In 1991 environmental regulations were enacted, requiring a greater release of water to the Trinity River in order to protect fish, However, the use of Trinity River water remains a contentious issue, especially in years of drought. The Trinity River begins deep in the Scott Mountains, in Trinity County, at the confluence of High Camp Creek, the East Fork and Stuart Fork of the Trinity River also flow into the reservoir. It then turns northwest, past Junction City, and receives the North Fork Trinity River at Helena. Further west it passes the former mining settlement of Big Bar and enters a gorge, which provides the route for Highway 299. At Burnt Ranch it receives the New River from the north, at Salyer the South Fork, its main tributary, enters from the south, nearly doubling the flow. At the confluence of the South Fork, the Trinity River turns sharply north and it flows through the wider steep-sided namesake valley of the Hoopa Valley Reservation, past the towns of Willow Creek and Hoopa. It joins the Klamath River at Weitchpec,44 miles above the mouth of the river on the Pacific Ocean. The confluence marks the point where the Klamath turns from its generally southwesterly course to flow north towards the sea, as the crow flies, Weitchpec is situated about 30 miles northeast of Eureka. The Trinity River is a predominantly rain-fed river, with the highest flows occurring between December and April and the lowest from August through October, the water level can rise quickly in the winter when large Pacific storms strike Californias north coast. Almost no precipitation occurs in summer, when the source of flow is snowmelt from the higher elevations of the Klamath Mountains. The United States Geological Survey operates eight real-time stream gages on the Trinity River, the lowermost gage, located at Hoopa, measures runoff from 2,853 square miles, or 97 percent of the Trinity River watershed. The annual discharge, averaged over two periods from 1912–1960 and 1964–2013, was 5,230 cubic feet per second

5.
Humboldt Bay
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Humboldt Bay is an American natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County. The largest city adjoining the bay is Eureka, the center and county seat of Humboldt County. Commercially, this second largest estuary in California houses the largest oyster production operations on the West Coast, since the 1850s, the bay has been used extensively to export logs and forest products as part of the historic West coast lumber trade, with infrequent shipping occurring currently. This is partially because it is difficult to see from the ocean. The harbor opens to the sea through a narrow and historically treacherous passage, Humboldt Bay began to form when a river valley drowned about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago during a period of rapid sea level rise. Bay sediments also contain buried salt marsh deposits showing that areas of the bay have subsided during episodic large magnitude subduction earthquakes, three rivers, the Mad, Elk and Eel, drained into Humboldt Bay during the mid-Pleistocene. Daby, Woodley and Indian Island are in the North Bay, low tides reveal two more islands named Bird Island and Sand Island which was formed from dredge spoils left in the early 20th century. A large eelgrass bed in the South Bay which may be exposed at low tides is locally known as Clam Island, at high tide the surface area is approximately 24 square miles while only 10.8 square miles at low tide. Each tidal cycle replaces 41% of the water in Humboldt Bay although exchange in small channels, the bay is approximately 14 miles long, but can be from 0.5 miles wide at the entrance to the widest point at 4.3 miles in the North Bay. Captain Jonathan Winship is credited with the first recorded entry into Humboldt Bay by sea in June 1806 while employed by the Russian-American Company and his party, including Aleuts in baidarka to hunt sea otter, were met with hostility by the local Indians. Winships party named the bay, the Bay of Resanof, after Nikolai Rezanov, the Chamberlain of the Tsar, in 1849, an expedition of seven men led by Josiah Gregg attempted to find an overland route to the Pacific Ocean. They left from the town of Weaverville for the 150-mile trek to the sea. Because of the density of the forests and because Gregg stopped frequently to measure latitude. The party was near starvation when they emerged on the coast where they discovered what is now known as Humboldt Bay on 20 December 1849, after stocking up on food the party walked to San Francisco to report their discovery of the bay. In March 1850, two ships, the General Morgan and the Laura Virginia, were sent to the bay from San Francisco, after considerable initial difficulty due to waves breaking heavily over shifting sands of the bar crossing, the ships entered the bay in 1850. The members of the Laura Virginia company named the bay after Alexander von Humboldt, the Indian name for the bay was Qual-a-wa-loo, while the Wiyot nation called it Wike or Wiki. Humboldt Bay was charted by the United States Coast Survey in 1850, although the map was not published until 1852. After two years of settlement on Humboldt Bay in 1852, only six ships sailed from the bay to San Francisco

6.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations

7.
Smith River (California)
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The Smith River is a river on the Pacific coast of extreme northwestern California, in the United States. It is about 25.1 miles long, all in Del Norte County, and it flows through the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The Smith River is formed by the confluence of its middle and north forks in Del Norte County, in the extreme northwest corner of California, near the community of Gasquet. The Middle Fork,27.8 miles long, rises in Del Norte County, approximately 60 miles northeast of Crescent City, the North Fork Smith River,28.1 miles long, rises in Oregon on the northeast slope of Chetco Peak. The South Fork Smith River enters the Smith River near the community of Hiouchi, the 43. 3-mile-long fork rises on the eastern edge of the Smith River National Recreation Area, approximately 30 miles east-northeast of Crescent City, flowing southwest and then northwest. From the confluence with the South Fork, the Smith River flows generally northwest, entering the Pacific Ocean near the community of Smith River, Smith River estuary is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy. The rivers watershed catchment area is 719 square miles, by average discharge, the Smith is the largest river system in California that flows freely along its entire course. The highly variable annual flow is approximately 3,746 cu ft/s, with a monthly high of 8,432 cu ft/s in January. The all-time highest flow was 228,000 cubic feet per second on December 22,1964 during the Christmas flood of 1964, the river was named for the explorer Jedediah Smith. KalmiopsisWild Smith River Alliance Recreation – Wild and Scenic North Fork Smith River, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, United States Forest Service

8.
Klamath River
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The Klamath River flows 263 miles through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second largest river in California after the Sacramento River and it drains an extensive watershed of almost 16,000 square miles that stretches from the arid country of south-central Oregon to the temperate rainforest of the Pacific coast. Unlike most rivers, the Klamath begins in the desert and flows toward the mountains – carving its way through the rugged Cascade Range. The watershed is known for this peculiar geography, and the Klamath has been called a river upside down by National Geographic magazine, the Klamath is the most important North American river south of the Columbia River for anadromous fish migration. Its salmon, steelhead and rainbow trout have adapted to high water temperatures. The numerous fish were a source of food for Native Americans. Within several decades of settlement, native peoples were forced into reservations. During the latter days of the California Gold Rush, increasing numbers of miners working the Klamath River and its tributaries. Conflict and introduced diseases left indigenous tribes with only 10% of their original population, steamboats operated briefly on the large lakes of the upper basin, contributing to the growth of towns such as Klamath Falls, Oregon, before they were replaced by railroads in the late 19th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the basin became a productive agricultural region. In the 1960s, the Klamath River was targeted by much larger, one of these projects, the Klamath Diversion, would have reversed the entire flow of the Klamath River to supply farms and urban areas in central and southern California. Today, the Klamath is a recreational river as well as an important source of water for agriculture. It includes many of the longest free-flowing stretches of river in California, however, dams and diversions in the upper basin have often caused water quality issues in the lower half of the river. Environmental groups and native tribes have proposed changes to water use in the Klamath Basin. The proposal has been endorsed by the U. S. Department of the Interior but has not been authorized by the United States Congress. Upper Klamath Lake, filling a valley at the foot of the eastern slope of the southern High Cascades, is the source of the Klamath River. Its headstreams, however, begin over 100 miles away—as far as Crater Lake National Park, the Klamath River issues from Klamath Lake at Klamath Falls as a short 1-mile stream known as the Link River, which flows into 18-mile long Lake Ewauna, formed by Keno Dam. Below the dam the river flows west, passing the mostly dry Lower Klamath Lake bed, the Klamath River then enters California, where it passes through three more hydroelectric plants and turns south near the town of Hornbrook towards Mount Shasta

9.
Redwood Creek (Humboldt County)
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Redwood Creek is a 61. 8-mile river in Humboldt County, California. Redwood Creek begins near Board Camp Mountain in the Coast Ranges near Dinsmores, the streams headwaters lie at about 4,400 feet above sea level, in a network of small unnamed streams along the north sides of a ridge abutting the Mad River valley to the south. It flows north through a forested valley, receiving many small tributaries including Minor. About 15 miles downstream of the source, the creek crosses under State Route 299, slightly less than 20 miles from the mouth, the river passes the southern boundary of Redwood National Park. It then receives Bridge Creek from the left, before winding through several groves of Sequoia sempervirens, more known as redwood trees. Several of the tallest redwoods in the world are near the creeks banks, near the small town of Orick it curves west, and receives Prairie Creek, its largest tributary, from the right. It empties into the Pacific Ocean about 30 miles north of Eureka and 27 miles south of Crescent City, the long, narrow Redwood Creek drainage basin encompasses 280 square miles on the western slopes of the California Coast Ranges, entirely within Humboldt County. It stretches about 56 kilometres from north to south and ranges from 4.5 to 7 miles wide. Most of the flows in a broad,1, 500-foot -deep valley sandwiched between the Mad River basin to the west, and the Klamath River drainage to the east. Elevations range from over 5,000 feet on higher peaks of the mountains near the headwaters to sea level at the mouth at the Pacific. The small town of Orick and the strip of surrounding farmland are the only significant development in the entire basin. The river is flowing and has no dams, only a few agricultural diversions in the last 3 miles above the mouth. The river provides recreation, and agricultural and industrial water supply for the community of Orick, the lower portion of the creek and part of its estuary are in Redwood National and State Parks, but the upper portion is mostly privately owned. The park makes up 41 percent of the watershed and the Bureau of Land Management, private lands downstream of the parks makes up only 1 percent. Private lands upstream make up 55 percent,90 percent of which is owned by eight landowners, Lacks Creek Lacks Creek is a tributary of redwood creek located in California‘s northern Coast Range, approximately 15 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. The area is in Humboldt County, approximately 20 miles northeast of Eureka, the management area includes 8,673 acres of BLM managed public lands –7,377 acres are within the Lacks Creek watershed, with the other acreage made up of contiguous lands. The management area is surrounded by private land timber holdings. The immediate area is populated with scattered ranches in adjacent Redwood Valley

10.
Little River (Humboldt County)
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Little River is the largest Pacific coastal drainage basin between the Mad River and Big Lagoon. Its 19.6 miles of river drains forested Franciscan assemblage of the California Coast Ranges, the lowermost mile of channel is through Quaternary alluvium and dune sand of an estuarine floodplain typical of coastal inlets along the Cascadia subduction zone. Land seaward of U. S. Route 101 forms Little River State Beach, Little River State Park was established in 1931. In 2014 the North Coast regional water board recommended that Little River be listed and an impaired waterway due to E. coli contamination 600 times greater than normal

11.
Mad River (California)
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The Mad River is a river in upper Northern California. The rivers headwaters are in the Coast Range near South Kelsey Ridge, today, among these distinct groups, only the Wiyot-affiliated Blue Lake Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe and holds lands in trust for its citizens. The Whilkut, Nongatl and Lassik were essentially annihilated during the Bald Hills War in the 1860s. The river was named in December,1849 in memory of an incident when Dr. Josiah Gregg lost his temper when his party did not wait for him at the river mouth. The Mad River drains approximately 497 square miles of the Coast Range Geomorphic Province and empties into the Pacific Ocean north of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, the basin is about 100 miles in length and averages six miles wide. Elevations range from sea level at the mouth to 3,000 feet along the ridge to 6,000 feet in the headwaters. The river provides groundwater recharge for agricultural water supplies and is free-flowing for 85 percent of its length, matthews Dam, about one third of the way down the river from its source, forms Ruth Reservoir. The reservoir can hold 48,000 acre feet of water, the greatest problem of the Mad River drainage basin, as for many rivers in this area of the state, is erosion causing excessive sediment buildup in the river and its tributaries. The main causes of the erosion are excessive road building and logging, in addition, the removal of riparian vegetation increases erosion and urbanization causes decreased water quality. In 1992, the Environmental Protection Agency added the Mad River to California’s Clean Water Act Section 303 impaired water list due to elevated sedimentation/siltation and turbidity. The upper half of the river is inside the Six Rivers National Forest, about 64 percent of the land is used for timber production. Green Diamond is by far the largest landowner in the watershed, the next largest landowners are R. Emmerson and Humboldt Redwood Company, with 3 and 2 percent respectively. There are quite a few ranchers and lumber companies that own smaller, private residences, open space and parks make up most of the rest. The river provides recreation and wildlife habitat for preservation of rare and endangered species including warm and cold freshwater habitat for fish migration, flora of the area includes the Mad River fleabane, a wildflower which was named for the river. Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead and resident coastal rainbow trout, coastal cutthroat trout, the Mad River watershed also contains several non-salmonid fish species. California roach, brown bullhead, largemouth bass, and green sunfish represent non-native fish species introduced into the watershed, Mad River estuary is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy. The Mad River watershed was described as at carrying capacity with 22 colonies of North American beaver in 1954 and these beaver were re-introduced into the North Fork Mad River in 1946, or possibly were migrants from the Little River. North American river otter were also numerous, list of rivers in California Mad River, California - the small community near the western extent of Ruth Lake

12.
Copper Creek (California)
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Copper Creek is a southern tributary of the Klamath River in the U. S. state of California. Arising in the Klamath Mountains, the creek drains a watershed of about 120 square miles. Historically, Copper Creek was the site of at least one Hupa Native American village, the origin of the name comes from the peach-colored cliffs that line the lower few miles of the canyon. It rises as two forks in the Six Rivers National Forest in Trinity County, the West Fork is the larger of the two branches, the West Fork begins at Johnson Spring on the northeastern flank of an unnamed ridge at an elevation of 5,992 feet. From there, it flows north about 16.5 miles to its confluence with the East Fork at 40. 6304°N123. 3466°W﻿ /40.6304, -123.3466. The East Fork rises on the flank of West Redina Peak at 5,416 feet. From the confluence, Copper Creek proceeds to flow north-northwest, looping to the southeast at the confluence with Basin Creek and it then turns north again, meandering through a relatively straight valley, and receives in quick succession Graham Creek and Lost Cow Creek from the right. At the confluence with Indian Creek, the creek swings northwest, crossing the Humboldt County line, the Klamath flows a further 40 miles to empty into the Pacific Ocean. Historically, the Hupa tribe lived along Copper Creek and the Klamath River around the area of the Coppers mouth, the river was called Chwuloqe, meaning chinook salmon. One Hupa village was located on the creek, within 5 miles of the mouth, the river received its modern name in 1851 when miners attracted by the California Gold Rush discovered the river while traveling on the Klamath in search of gold. The copper-colored cliffs that line the last few miles of the creeks canyon inspired them to give the stream its present name, the miners eventually employed hydraulic mining in order to find deeper deposits of gold in the hillsides surrounding the river. This practice severely hurt the ecology of the creek and its salmon run, list of rivers of California Durham, David L. Californias geographic names, a gazetteer of historic and modern names of the state. California Place Names, The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names, the wild and scenic rivers of America

13.
Boise Creek
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Boise Creek is a stream in Humboldt County, California, United States. From its origin on Orleans Mountain it flows 8.5 miles to join the Klamath River about 2.25 miles southeast of Orleans, the creek lies within the Six Rivers National Forest and is part of the Lower Klamath River Watershed. In addition, the dams have blocked access for salmon spawning grounds on over 300 miles of Klamath River watershed, access to Boise Creek for salmon has been blocked by a bedrock falls 13. It has also shown that off-channel wetlands enhance chinook salmon growth. Course of the Klamath River Mid Klamath Watershed Council

14.
Salmon River (California)
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The Salmon River is a 19. 6-mile-long tributary to the Klamath River in western Siskiyou County, California. The river has its origins in the mountains of the Trinity Alps, Russian Mountains. The Salmon River comprises two forks, the North Fork and the South Fork, which join at the hamlet of Forks of Salmon, California to form the mainstem Salmon River. A large tributary stream, Wooley Creek, joins the mainstem Salmon River about 4 miles from its mouth at Somes Bar, the lower portion of the Salmon Rivers southwestern divide defines the boundary of Siskiyou County and Humboldt County. The rivers 751-square-mile watershed is entirely within the Klamath National Forest, unlike most other large California rivers, the Salmon is completely free flowing, with no dams or significant flow diversions of any kind. It is one of the most pristine areas in the Klamath River system, Forest fires are one of the largest threats to the river and its watershed. Large fires in 1977,1987,2002,2006,2008, the excessive sediment degrades the habitat of aquatic organisms, particularly for coho salmon, Chinook salmon, sturgeon and steelhead trying to spawn. Salmon River Restoration Council Salmon River History Timeline, 1849-present California Invasive Plant Council

15.
Scott River
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The Scott River is a 60-mile-long river in Siskiyou County, California, United States. It is a tributary of the Klamath River, one of the largest rivers in California, historically, fur trappers called the river the Beaver River, before the Hudsons Bay Company nearly extirpated beaver from the area in the early 19th century. Scott Valley was first entered by Stephen Meek, Thomas McKay, in 1850 alone, Meek reportedly trapped 1,800 beaver in Scott Valley, which was then known as Beaver Valley. The Scott Rivers watershed covers about 800 square miles, about two-thirds of the land is privately owned and about one-third is publicly owned. About 45 percent of the land is used for forestry, grazing for 40 percent,13 percent for cropland, dredges that operated in the Scott Valley between 1934-1950 did some of the most visible damage done during the mining era. Now Stapletons reach on Sugar Creek has perennial beaver ponds while the neighboring creeks run dry in summer, pollocks method had been used successfully in Bridge Creek, Oregon where the subsequent increase in beaver dams led to a dramatic increase in rainbow trout abundance

16.
Shasta River
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The Shasta River is a tributary of the Klamath River, approximately 58 miles long, in northern California in the United States. It drains the Shasta Valley on the west and north sides of Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range, the river rises in southern Siskiyou County on the edge of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, approximately 10 miles southwest of Weed. It flows generally northwest through the Shasta Valley, past Weed, through Lake Shastina and it joins the Klamath from the south approximately 8 miles north-northeast of Yreka. The Shasta Valley is dominated by nearby Mount Shasta and underlain with volcanic basalt from eruptions of the mountain in recent geologic time, plutos Cave is an example of voids remaining after highly fluid lava drained from underground conduits which were fed by volcanic vents to the east. Running north, parallel to Interstate 5, for the few miles. It then crosses under the interstate, winds past a ridge and it then turns northeast into Lake Shastina, an artificial lake formed by a dam at its north end, and turns northwest. Bypassing Big Springs 30 miles from the mouth, the river picks up more agricultural runoff as it meanders north between irrigated fields. The river then passes between Yreka and Montague,10 miles from the mouth, crossed by California State Route 3 and it then enters a canyon in the Klamath Mountains,3 miles from the mouth, and begins to parallel California State Route 263. Its mouth is on the bank of the Klamath River, at the junction of State Route 263. The roughly 800-square-mile watershed of the Shasta River consists of a farming valley entirely in Siskiyou County. It is adjacent to the Scott River on the west, Butte Creek on the east, the watershed is located east of the Klamath Mountains and northeast of Mount Shasta. Some towns in the watershed include Weed, Edgewood, Gazelle, Big Springs, Grenada, Montague, major bodies of water include Lake Shastina, Dwinnell Reservoir and Trout Lake. Receiving just 14 inches of rain yearly on average, the 30-mile -wide Shasta River Valley receives most of its water flow from groundwater. It also receives water from snow runoff at Mount Shasta - which flows out of lava tubes as springs. Efforts are being made to restore the river and to prevent the extinction of its Chinook, the Nature Conservancy has purchased two ranches in the watershed in hope of restoring riparian habitat for anadromous fish. Whitewater kayaking and rafting can be done in the wintertime on the last 7 miles of the Shasta River before it joins the Klamath River, Shasta River Geology Shasta Valley State of California, Shasta River Water Quality Mount Shasta Bioregional Water Center, Dewatering of the Shasta River

17.
Lost River (California)
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Lost River begins and ends in a closed basin in northern California and southern Oregon in the United States. The river,60 miles long, flows in an arc from Clear Lake Reservoir in Modoc County, California, through Klamath County, Oregon, to Tule Lake in Siskiyou County, about 46 mi of Lost River are in Oregon, and 14 miles are in California. From its source, the flows into Langell Valley, where Miller Creek enters from the right. Near Bonanza, the river turns west and passes through Olene Gap, the river then turns southeast and flows along the base of Stukel Mountain, where it provides diversion canals for small lakes including Nuss Lake for irrigation and flood control. It then re-enters California south of Merrill, the project provides water to about 210,000 acres of cropland, 62% of which are in Oregon and 38% in California. Water from the Lost River basin enters the Klamath River basin, mainly through the Lost River Diversion Channel, the 8 mi channel can also supply water by reverse flow from the Klamath when irrigation water is needed for farms in drained parts of Tule Lake. After 1846, the Applegate Trail crossed the river on a bridge of stepping-stones, later covered by a Bureau of Reclamation dam. Earlier in that year, explorer John C, frémont had named the stream McCrady River after a boyhood friend, but over time the Lost River name prevailed. A Lost River post office operated briefly, probably in the vicinity of Olene, Oregon, a sluggish stream, Lost River offers fishing opportunities for bass, up to 7 lb, brown bullhead, crappie, yellow perch, and Sacramento perch. Trout are uncommon in this river, battle of Lost River List of longest streams of Oregon List of rivers of California List of rivers of Oregon

18.
South Fork Trinity River
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The South Fork Trinity River is the main tributary of the Trinity River, in the northern part of the U. S. state of California. It is part of the Klamath River drainage basin and it flows generally northwest from its source in the Klamath Mountains,92 miles through Humboldt and Trinity Counties, to join the Trinity near Salyer. The main tributaries are Hayfork Creek and the East Branch South Fork Trinity River, the river has no major dams or diversions, and is designated Wild and Scenic for its entire length. One of the largest undammed river systems in California, the South Fork drains a rugged, the large areas of intact habitat are important for several endangered species and rare plants. Historically, the South Fork watershed was known for its prodigious anadromous fish population, during the mid-20th century, the river channel was heavily damaged by major flooding, which was exacerbated by erosion caused by mining, logging and ranching. Decades later the South Fork is still considered in the process of recovery, the South Fork Trinity River begins as a small spring on the west slope of the Brooks Ridge near North Yolla Bolly Mountain,4,460 feet above sea level. From there, it flows briefly west and turns to the north, receiving numerous tributaries which drain a series of steep. At about 4 miles from its source, the river is crossed by the Humboldt Trail, shortly downstream, the 10-mile long East Branch South Fork Trinity River joins from the right. Shortly afterwards, it receives Happy Camp Creek from the left, below here the river passes Forest Glen, receives Rattlesnake Creek from the right, and crosses underneath California State Route 36. Here the river runs parallel to the Mad River, separated by a 2. Below State Route 36, it receives Butter and Indian Valley Creeks, the river then enters the wide Hyampom Valley, where it passes the town of Hyampom and receives its biggest tributary, Hayfork Creek, from the right. It then passes the Hyampom Airport and receives Pelletreau Creek from the left, within the valley the river briefly exhibits braided characteristics, with a wide floodplain. At the north end of the valley the river enters another canyon, receiving Mingo Creek from the left, then veers sharply eastward, the river receives Madden Creek from the left and crosses underneath California State Route 299. Directly below the bridge, the South Fork flows north into the Trinity River, over hundreds of millions of years, the westward movement of North America caused it to accrete many terranes from the Pacific Ocean region along its west coast. Most of the Klamath Mountains consist of granite and batholiths underlie most of the major peaks, there are large parts of the watershed where the ground is composed of stable bedrock, while large portions of hillsides are composed of loose soil and rock. Historically, riverbeds in the watershed were narrow and rocky, but due to vast amounts of silt washed down by logging practices, streambeds have become wide, braided, elevated. The river and its tributaries drain 980 square miles in Humboldt County in the south and Trinity County in the north, comprising 34 percent of the 2, the Hayfork Creek sub-watershed contains 379 square miles, or 38 percent of the entire South Fork Trinity watershed. Most of the lies on public lands, while for Hayfork Creek,78 percent of its watershed lies on public lands

19.
Hayfork Creek
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Hayfork Creek is a tributary of the South Fork Trinity River in Northern California in the United States. At over 50 miles long, it is the rivers longest tributary and is one of the southernmost streams in the Klamath Basin, the watershed of the creek was originally inhabited by the Wintu people. Human habitation in the basin goes back for more than 5,000 years, the first Euro-Americans arrived in the late 1820s, but the basin was not developed until the 1850s with the onset of the California Gold Rush. The fertile soils and mild climate of the valley led to it becoming the most prosperous agricultural area of the county. Logging began in the 1920s, and by the 1940s started to have an impact on the ecology of the watershed. The Hayfork rises on the west flank of Brushy Mountain some 7 miles south of the hamlet of Wildwood, flowing generally north through a deep forested valley in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, it receives the East Fork from the right. Five miles downstream, it enters the Hayfork Valley, a large basin in the middle of the Klamath Mountains. Here it receives Summit and Big Creeks from the right, while Salt Creek enters from the left, the stream also passes State Route 3 and the small town of Hayfork. Winding northwest out of the valley, the river enters a gorge, plunging over whitewater rapids. At the Miners Creek confluence from the right, Hayfork Creek turns west and shortly afterwards receives Corral Creek, approximately a mile above the mouth the river spills out of the mountains into the Hyampom Valley. It joins the South Fork of the Trinity just south of the town of Hyampom,30 miles above the rivers mouth on the Trinity River. The U. S. Geological Survey had a gauge on Hayfork Creek at Hyampom from 1954 to 1974. During the twenty years of record, the discharge at the mouth was 552 cubic feet per second calculated from monthly mean discharges. The largest peak flow was 29,400 cubic feet per second in December 1964, the lowest monthly average was 19.1 cubic feet per second in September 1960. There was also a gauge at Hayfork from 1956 to 1976, the mean annual discharge for this location was 119 cubic feet per second. The maximum peak flow was during the storms of December 1964 at 7,520 cubic feet per second, the minimum monthly average was 3 cubic feet per second in August 1959. Hayfork Creek drains a mountainous, remote watershed of 379 square miles situated entirely within southern Trinity County, although the majority of the basin is covered by the Klamath Mountains, it also contains some of Trinity Countys only significant amounts of arable land in the Hayfork and Hyampom Valleys. Elevations in the range from 6,400 feet at Chanchelulla Peak

20.
Prairie Creek (California)
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Prairie Creek is the Redwood Creek tributary drainage basin including the inland portion of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Prairie Creek drains southerly through a Plio-Pleistocene non-marine sedimentary and metasedimentary formation to a confluence with Redwood Creek approximately one mile upstream of Orick, the southern half of the channel exposes the Franciscan Assemblage and the lower reaches flow through Quaternary alluvium of the Redwood Creek estuarine floodplain. Prairie Creek was closely followed by U. S. Route 101 from Orick to the Klamath River drainage divide. The former highway alignment through the park has designated the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway

21.
Russian River (California)
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The Russian River, a southward-flowing river, drains 1,485 square miles of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual discharge of approximately 1,600,000 acre feet, it is the second-largest river flowing through the nine-county Greater San Francisco Bay Area. The Russian River springs from the Laughlin Range about 5 mi east of Willits in Mendocino County. It flows generally southward to Redwood Valley, then past Calpella, from there the Russian River flows south, past Ukiah and Hopland, and crosses into Sonoma County just north of Cloverdale. Closely paralleled by U. S. Route 101, it descends into the Alexander Valley and it flows south past Cloverdale, Asti, and Geyserville. East of Healdsburg, Maacama Creek joins the Russian River, after it makes a series of sweeping bends, the Healdsburg Memorial Bridge carries Old Redwood Highway over the river just upstream of U. S. Route 101s Healdsburg crossing. It receives water from Lake Sonoma via Dry Creek, the river turns westward, where it is spanned by the Wohler Bridge, and it is joined by Mark West Creek north of Forestville, followed by Green Valley Creek to the south. The river passes Rio Nido and Guerneville, in that area, State Route 116 parallels the river, bordering it past Guernewood Park and Monte Rio. Austin Creek enters from the north before the River passes through Duncans Mills, State Route 1 crosses over the river before it flows into the Pacific Ocean between Jenner and Goat Rock Beach. The Russian River estuary is recognized for protection by the California Bays, the mouth is about 60 mi north of the San Francisco Bays Golden Gate bridge. The lower Russian River is a spring, summer. It is very safe at that time for swimming and boating, the river is dangerous in the winter, with swift current and muddy water. The geographer R. S. Holway wrote of the Russian River in his paper The Russian River, originally, the Russian River was one of several rivers draining westward from the Mayacamas Mountains through the Mendocino Plateau to the sea, a region lifted up by tectonic forces. The Navarro River drained from the Cobb Mountain area, while the Russian River drained from the Mt. St. Helena area, being at a lower elevation, the Russian River began cutting north into the drainage area of the Navarro River. Eroding up a line in Alexander Valley, the Russian River intersected the Navarro River just north of Cloverdale. In one fell swoop, the Russian River took Big Sulphur Creek, the high valleys were eroded into rocky canyons for ten miles north of Cloverdale and for five miles east of Cloverdale. After establishing a connection to Clear Lake, the Russian River was beheaded from Clear Lake by a slide, now Clear Lake flows into the Sacramento River. The river incised a canyon into Fitch Mountain at an early time, the Russian River was prevented from flowing south into San Pablo Bay, due to a 113-foot high ridge at Cotati

22.
Duncan's Mills
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Duncans Mills is an unincorporated community located in Sonoma County, California. Duncans Mills was once part of the Rancho Muniz Mexican land grant, in 1877, Alexander Duncan established a sawmill in what is today Duncans Mills. The mills sent lumber to the city of San Francisco. The town was founded in the 1870s and it featured two hotels, a general store, a saloon, a meat market, blacksmith, livery stable, and a notion shop. Starting in the 1870s, the narrow-gauge North Pacific Coast Railroad ran through Duncans Mills on its way from Cazadero, after being sold several times, the railroad ceased operation in the 1930s. The town slowly faded, until a 1976 restoration project, associated with the celebration of the U. S. Bicentennial, brought about a period of building restoration, today, Duncans Mills resembles the way it was originally built. It has an authentic Northwestern Pacific Railroad Depot and several cars from the old railroad line. A California State Park Ranger Station is located in one of the old buildings as the California State Park Store with a selection of books. The Blue Heron Restaurant has served as the entertainment center of the town for decades. Duncans Mills is located on the Russian River about 4 mi from the Pacific Ocean, the record high was 113 °F on July 14,1972, and the record low was 14 °F on December 23,1990. According to the 2000 census, about 175 people live in Duncans Mills, there are around 42 family households and 31 non-family households. Each household has an average of 2-3 people, in Duncans Mills, there are 129 houses, and 56 of them are vacant and 52 of them are seasonal, recreational, of occasional use

23.
Golden Gate
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The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, the strait is well known today for its depth and powerful tidal currents from the Pacific Ocean. Many small whirlpools and eddies can form in its waters, with its strong currents, rocky reefs and fog, the Golden Gate is the site of over 100 shipwrecks. The Golden Gate is often shrouded in fog, especially during the summer, heat generated in the California Central Valley causes air there to rise, creating a low pressure area that pulls in cool, moist air from over the Pacific Ocean. The Golden Gate forms the largest break in the hills of the California Coast Range, allowing a persistent, dense stream of fog to enter the bay there. Before the Europeans arrived in the 18th century, the area around the strait, descendants of both tribes remain in the area. The strait was surprisingly elusive for early European explorers, presumably due to this persistent summer fog. The strait is not recorded in the voyages of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo nor Francis Drake, the strait is also unrecorded in observations by Spanish galleons returning from the Philippines that laid up in nearby Drakes Bay to the north. These galleons rarely passed east of the Farallon Islands, fearing the possibility of rocks between the islands and the mainland, the first recorded observation of the strait occurred nearly two hundred years later than the earliest European explorations of the coast. Until the 1840s, the strait was called the Boca del Puerto de San Francisco, on 1 July 1846, before the discovery of gold in California, the entrance acquired a new name. Frémont wrote, To this Gate I gave the name of Chrysopylae, or Golden Gate, for the reasons that the harbor of Byzantium was called Chrysoceras. In the 1920s, no bridge spanned the watery expanse between San Francisco and Marin in California—so when the U. S, post Office issued a postage stamp on 1 May 1923, celebrating The Golden Gate, the issue naturally portrayed the scene without a bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge is a bridge spanning the Golden Gate. As part of both US Highway 101 and California Route 1, it connects the city of San Francisco on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension span in the world when completed in 1937. Since its completion, the length has been surpassed by eight other bridges. It still has the second longest suspension bridge span in the United States. In 2007, it was ranked fifth on the List of Americas Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects, Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of 1,017 acres of public grounds

24.
Eel River (California)
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The Eel River is a major river, about 196 miles long, of northwestern California in the United States. The river and its tributaries form the third largest watershed entirely in California, the river flows generally northward through the Coast Ranges west of the Sacramento Valley, emptying into the Pacific Ocean about 10 miles downstream from Fortuna and just south of Humboldt Bay. The river provides groundwater recharge, recreation, and industrial, agricultural and municipal water supply, the Eel River system is among the most dynamic in California because of the regions unstable geology and the influence of major Pacific storms. The discharge is highly variable, average flows in January and February are over 100 times greater than in August, the river also carries the highest suspended sediment load of any river of its size in the United States, in part due to the frequent landslides in the region. The river basin was populated by Native Americans before. The region remained little traveled until 1850, when Josiah Gregg, the river was named after they traded a frying pan to a group of Wiyot fishermen in exchange for a large number of Pacific lampreys, which the explorers thought were eels. Explorers reports of the fertile and heavily timbered region attracted settlers to Humboldt Bay, starting in the late 19th century the Eel River supported a large salmon canning industry which began to decline by the 1920s due to overfishing. The Eel River basin has also been a significant source of timber since the days of early settlement, the river valley was a major rail transport corridor throughout the 20th century and also forms part of the route of Redwood Highway. Since the early 20th century, the Eel River has been dammed in its headwaters to provide water, via transfer, to parts of Mendocino. During the 1950s and 1960s, there was great interest in building much larger dams in the Eel River system, the Eel was granted federal Wild and Scenic River status in 1981, formally making it off limits to new dams. Nevertheless, logging, grazing, road-building and other human activities continue to affect the watersheds ecology. The Eel River originates on the flank of 6, 740-foot Bald Mountain, in the Upper Lake Ranger District of the Mendocino National Forest in Mendocino County. The river flows south through a canyon in Lake County before entering Lake Pillsbury. Below the dam the river flows west, re-entering Mendocino County, at the small Cape Horn Dam about 15 miles east of Willits, water is diverted from the Eel River basin through a 1-mile tunnel to the Russian River, in a scheme known as the Potter Valley Project. Below the dam the river turns north, flowing through an isolated valley, receiving Outlet Creek from the west. About 20 miles downstream, the North Fork Eel River – draining one of the most rugged, between the North and Middle Forks the Round Valley Indian Reservation lies east of the Eel River. After this confluence the Eel flows briefly through southwestern Trinity County, past Island Mountain, the river cuts from southeast to northwest across Humboldt County, past a number of small mountain communities including Fort Seward. The South Fork Eel River joins from the west, near Humboldt Redwoods State Park, below the South Fork the Eel flows through a wider agricultural valley, past Scotia and Rio Dell, before receiving the Van Duzen River from the east

25.
Salt River (California)
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It was historically an important navigation route until the early 20th Century. It presently intercepts and drains tributaries from the Wildcat Hills along the side of the Eel River floodplain. Efforts to restore the river began in 1987, permits and construction began in 2012, the California Coast Ranges are relatively young mountain ranges being tectonically uplifted faster than the pace of erosion by several millimeters a year. These rapidly uplifted, unstable slopes produce natural landslides which have filled the channel for tens of thousands of years. Tree stump evidence from the banks near the shows that the area around the mouth of the Eel dropped 11 feet in the January 26,1700. The basin which holds both the Eel and the Salt is underlain by the Eel river syncline, crossed by the Russ and Ferndale faults, both the San Andreas Fault system and the Cascadia Megathrust impact the geomorphology of the basin. There are five named tributaries which fall from the Wildcat hills and contribute water, source, United States Department of Agriculture. A Wiyot village named Wotwetwok was situated opposite the mouth of Francis Creek along the Salt River, the families of this village hunted, fished and used the river and the delta for navigation for thousands of years. At that time, the Salt River delta was shaded by Sitka spruce and Alder, shadowing ferns, further upstream coast redwoods became part of the canopy. Early writers described a series of prairies surrounded by fir and redwood with ferns, grasses, one said it was dazzling even to remember. Others pointed out that the land was prone to flooding, game including California mule deer, Roosevelt elk, bear, ducks, geese, brandt, cranes, and other waterfowl were common. He sailed into the mouth of the Eel in January 1603 where instead of the city of Quivera the papers had described. In 1851, the turnaround point was 14 miles miles upstream of the mouth of the Eel with brackish water rising to 4 miles from the mouth of the Eel River which was about 120 feet wide. By the middle 1870s,175 feet long steamships sailed 2.5 miles up the Salt River to the town of Port Kenyon, the low water depth was 13 feet, and mean high tide was 18 feet. The island formed between the Salt River and the course of the Eel, shown on old maps of Port Kenyon. Even with the wide and deep channel, siltation and annual flooding resulted in the loss of business and residents from Port Kenyon to Ferndale. In December 1877, the steamer Continental, which had been making regular trips in and out of Port Kenyon, suffered a steam explosion, wrecked and beached 2 miles from the entrance of the Eel. After the Continental wrecked, two steamers, the George Harley and the Alexander Duncan began shipping from Port Kenyon to San Francisco

26.
Van Duzen River
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The Van Duzen River is a river on the north coast of California. It is a tributary of the Eel River and drains 429 square miles, mostly in Humboldt County. The rivers elevation is over 5,000 feet at its source, the river has two forks in its upper reaches. The North Fork travels northwest until it reaches the town of Dinsmore. The Little Van Duzen, which flows northwest, joins the North Fork a few miles later. The river flows roughly west from then on and it meets its largest tributary, Yaeger Creek, about 5 miles before it reaches the Eel River. The river also provides habitat for preservation of rare and endangered species including cold freshwater habitat for fish migration. The primary land use in the watershed is timberland, road construction and poor logging practices, particularly historical, have increased erosion, leading to excessive sediment buildup in the river and its tributaries. In addition, gravel mining, particularly at the confluence of the Van Duzen and Eel River, has increased erosion, affected channel alignment, about 26 percent of the land is owned by industrial timber companies. About 31 percent is owned, but not industrial, land used for timber production. Residential land makes up 26 percent and public land makes up 17 percent, most of the public land is near the rivers headwaters in Six Rivers National Forest. The Van Duzen River has been designated as a National Wild. It is named for James Van Duzen a member of the Josiah Gregg exploring party that first traveled to Humboldt Bay overland in 1849. United States Environmental Protection Agency Klamath Resource Information System U. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, Van Duzen River, USGS, GNIS Friends of the Van Duzen River

27.
South Fork Eel River
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The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows 105 miles north from Laytonville to Dyerville/Founders Grove where it joins the Eel River, the South Fork drains a long and narrow portion of the Coast Range of California in parts of Mendocino and Humboldt counties. U. S. Route 101 follows the river for much of its length, the Kai Pomo Indians, a branch of the Pomo Indians group, once lived in the upper portion of the watershed. Before industrial development in the 1800s, many native tribes relied on the rivers abundant runs of salmon, in the 1920s, a private company built the Benbow Dam, blocking fish migration to a large area of the basin. The South Fork is designated as a National Wild and Scenic River from the confluence of Section Four Creek to the mouth, the South Fork Eel River begins near Iron Mountain in western Mendocino County, at an elevation of 2,500 feet. Its headwaters are near that of the Ten Mile River to the south, dropping off the high plateau where it begins, the South Fork winds north and bends southwest through a steep and narrow canyon. Longvale, California is a few miles to the east of the headwaters, while Laytonville, California is closer and it is not long after its headwaters that Branscomb Road drops into the South Fork Eels canyon from the north, paralleling the river. Almost 1-mile past this point, it receives its first significant tributary, Section Four Creek, although it is not a large creek, only about 2.5 miles long, it denotes the start of the National Wild and Scenic River section of the South Fork. The river meanders swiftly west and turns west-northwest, passing Branscomb, near the city, it receives Rock Creek on the right and Redwood Creek on the left. These two stream names are a common occurrence throughout the South Forks watershed, afterwards, it receives its first significant tributary, Tenmile Creek, on the right bank. Tenmile Creek begins in another section of the Coast Range, separated from the South Fork Eel River by two sub-ranges, the creek begins in the easternmost of these two sub-ranges. It then flows west, cutting a gap through the western subrange. The creek is about 21 miles long, despite the name, after the confluence with Tenmile Creek, the South Fork flows generally north, turning west where it receives another major tributary, 11-mile Rattlesnake Creek, also on the right. This point is significant because it is where it begins to parallel U. S. Highway 101, both roads come in from the east and at this point are on the rivers right bank. The river turns northwest, receiving Big Dann Creek and another large 9-mile tributary, Cedar Creek, Cedar Creek flows west and turns south-southwest, flowing also in a steep, undeveloped gorge. Shortly past Cedar Creek, the South Fork Eel meets another large tributary, Hollow Tree Creek flows east, turns north, then turns east again to meet the South Fork, fed by several smaller creeks. The South Fork then turns west again, flowing through the Standish Hickey State Recreational Area and it then meanders north into Richardson Grove State Park on an increasingly wide valley floor, receiving Red Mountain Creek on the right bank. The river then reaches Benbow Lake, which is inside the Benbow Lake State Recreational Area and next to the town of Benbow, Benbow Lake was a seasonal reservoir, formed by a dam at its western end

28.
List of tributaries of the South Fork Eel River
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The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows 105 miles north from Laytonville to Dyerville/Founders Grove where it joins the Eel River, the South Fork drains a long and narrow portion of the Coast Range of California in parts of Mendocino and Humboldt counties. U. S. Route 101 follows the river for much of its length, the Kai Pomo Indians, a branch of the Pomo Indians group, once lived in the upper portion of the watershed. Before industrial development in the 1800s, many native tribes relied on the rivers abundant runs of salmon, in the 1920s, a private company built the Benbow Dam, blocking fish migration to a large area of the basin. The South Fork is designated as a National Wild and Scenic River from the confluence of Section Four Creek to the mouth, the South Fork Eel River begins near Iron Mountain in western Mendocino County, at an elevation of 2,500 feet. Its headwaters are near that of the Ten Mile River to the south, dropping off the high plateau where it begins, the South Fork winds north and bends southwest through a steep and narrow canyon. Longvale, California is a few miles to the east of the headwaters, while Laytonville, California is closer and it is not long after its headwaters that Branscomb Road drops into the South Fork Eels canyon from the north, paralleling the river. Almost 1-mile past this point, it receives its first significant tributary, Section Four Creek, although it is not a large creek, only about 2.5 miles long, it denotes the start of the National Wild and Scenic River section of the South Fork. The river meanders swiftly west and turns west-northwest, passing Branscomb, near the city, it receives Rock Creek on the right and Redwood Creek on the left. These two stream names are a common occurrence throughout the South Forks watershed, afterwards, it receives its first significant tributary, Tenmile Creek, on the right bank. Tenmile Creek begins in another section of the Coast Range, separated from the South Fork Eel River by two sub-ranges, the creek begins in the easternmost of these two sub-ranges. It then flows west, cutting a gap through the western subrange. The creek is about 21 miles long, despite the name, after the confluence with Tenmile Creek, the South Fork flows generally north, turning west where it receives another major tributary, 11-mile Rattlesnake Creek, also on the right. This point is significant because it is where it begins to parallel U. S. Highway 101, both roads come in from the east and at this point are on the rivers right bank. The river turns northwest, receiving Big Dann Creek and another large 9-mile tributary, Cedar Creek, Cedar Creek flows west and turns south-southwest, flowing also in a steep, undeveloped gorge. Shortly past Cedar Creek, the South Fork Eel meets another large tributary, Hollow Tree Creek flows east, turns north, then turns east again to meet the South Fork, fed by several smaller creeks. The South Fork then turns west again, flowing through the Standish Hickey State Recreational Area and it then meanders north into Richardson Grove State Park on an increasingly wide valley floor, receiving Red Mountain Creek on the right bank. The river then reaches Benbow Lake, which is inside the Benbow Lake State Recreational Area and next to the town of Benbow, Benbow Lake was a seasonal reservoir, formed by a dam at its western end

29.
Bull Creek (Humboldt County)
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Bull Creek is the largest Eel River tributary drainage basin preserved within Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The basin contains the worlds largest remaining contiguous old-growth forest of coast redwoods, Bull Creek flows in a clockwise semi-circle around 3373-foot Grasshopper Mountain to enter the South Fork Eel River approximately 1.5 miles upstream of the South Fork confluence with the Eel River. Early attempts to preserve individual redwood trees and small groves of trees led to an understanding of the interdependence of forest ecosystems. Species important to the coastal redwood trees include aquatic plants. The entire Bull Creek drainage basin is protected within park boundaries to avoid upstream water quality changes detrimental to aquatic residents of the floodplain where the largest trees grow, redwood trees control the rate of erosion within the drainage basin. Founders Grove on the Bull Creek flood plain was within 9,400 acres purchased in 1931 by the Save-the-Redwoods League, timber on land upslope of Founders Grove was harvested in 1947. Four hundred more large trees were felled from the grove by the Christmas flood of 1964, most of the remainder of the Bull Creek watershed was subsequently purchased by Save-the-Redwoods League to encourage upslope forest management practices more similar to natural processes

30.
North Fork Eel River
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The North Fork Eel River is the smallest of four major tributaries of the Eel River in northwestern California in the United States. It drains a rugged area of about 286 square miles in the California Coast Ranges. It is formed in southern Trinity County deep within the Six Rivers National Forest by the confluence of its East and West Forks, the East Fork, the larger of the two, is sometimes considered the main stem. The river flows south-southeast through the North Fork Wilderness of the national forest, receiving Red Mountain and Hulls Creeks, after the Hulls Creek confluence it turns west then south through a gorge into Mendocino County. A few miles crossing the county line, the river again swings west. Primary human usage of the basin include very limited farming, ranching, grazing and logging, a study conducted in 1996 reported that the North Fork Eel River basin has only 200 full-time residents. About 50 percent of the land is government-owned, 48% are private, recreational uses, such as hunting and boating, are more common. For rafting, the North Fork Eel River is considered a difficult river, shallow and fluctuating highly in flow, with Class IV. The river historically was abundant with steelhead trout, and supported two distinct runs, one in the winter and one in the spring, the total historic population was estimated at 6,930 fish. Coho salmon might also have been present, however, logging and resultant severe erosion caused by the storms in 1964 caused hillsides to slump into the river near the mouth, filling its channel with debris and large boulders. The heavy flows also created several waterfalls that pose barriers to migrating fish, middle Fork Eel River South Fork Eel River List of rivers of California

31.
Middle Fork Eel River
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The Middle Fork Eel River is a major tributary of the Eel River of northwestern California in the United States. It drains a rugged and sparsely populated region of the Yolla Bolly Mountains, part of the California Coast Range, in Trinity and its watershed comprises roughly 745 square miles of land, or 20% of the entire Eel River basin. The river provides groundwater recharge and is used for recreation and for industrial, agricultural and municipal water supply by residents, the Middle Fork Eel River flows almost 70 stream miles. It rises in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness at the crest of the Coast Range about a mile or so north of Wrights Ridge and west of The Knob, at the confluence of several small unnamed streams. It makes a bend to the south, then southeast past the confluence with Rattlesnake Creek. Turning south around Taliaferro Ridge at the Beaver Creek confluence, it runs southwest to where the Black Butte River enters from the left. Williams Creek enters on the right, then the Middle Fork flows south through Round Valley Indian Reservation, hayshed and Elk Creeks both enter from the left as the river rounds a bend to the north. Afterwards, the final miles are spent flowing westwards through a gorge to the confluence with the main stem near Dos Rios. In 1967, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to build a dam just above the confluence of the Eel River. The Dos Rios Dam would have been 730 feet tall, creating a reservoir that covered 110,000 acres of land, if built, this dam would have diverted most of the flow of the river into the Central Valley for irrigation purposes. The project was defeated by outcry from residents and the intervention of then-California governor Ronald Reagan. Reagan remarked, Enough treaties had already broken with the Indians. The river provides habitat for preservation of rare and endangered species including cold freshwater habitat for fish migration. In a 1965 California Fish and Wildlife Plan, the Middle Fork Eel River watershed supported a run of 23,000 Steelhead trout in 178 miles of stream habitat. Steelhead surveys were conducted by DFG and USFS from 1966 to 1999, in 1999 they described the Middle Fork summer steelhead run as “The largest remaining wild run of these magnificent fish”. It was noted to be “. probably the only population that has not been touched by a hatchery program, counts from the annual surveys indicated that the Middle Fork summer steelhead population has declined since 1987, to a count of 471 fish in 1999. North Fork Eel River South Fork Eel River List of rivers of California Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness Reisner, cadillac Desert, revised edition, Penguin USA, ISBN 0-14-017824-4

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Rice Fork
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The Rice Fork is a 22. 7-mile-long tributary of the Eel River in Lake County, California. The Rice Fork begins on the upper northwest side of Goat Mountain, on the Colusa-Lake County line, before the construction of Scott Dam in the 1920s, which formed Lake Pillsbury, the Rice Fork ran directly into the Eel River. It is one of Lake Countys longest streams, the many tributaries to Rice Fork are Salt Creek, French Creek, Parramore Creek, Bevans Creek, Bear Creek, Packsaddle Creek, Willow Creek, Deer Creek, Rice Creek, and Soda Creek. In the 1860s, there was a dry year in the Sacramento Valley. A man by the name of Rice and some neighbors brought horses and mules up to Rice Valley, Rice was active in that area for only a few years, but Rice Valley, Rice Creek, and the Rice Fork took his name. A portion of trail is now under Lake Pillsbury. Snow Mountain-West at 7,038 feet dominates the landscape on the east side of the Rice Fork watershed, the average slope of Rice Fork is 200 feet per mile, and 2,110 feet per mile between 4,000 feet and 5,000 feet elevation. The Rice Fork drains 33 percent of the drainage area of Lake Pillsbury. The Rice Fork arm contains 7 percent of the area and 6 percent of the total volume of the reservoir. Most of the sediment in Lake Pillsbury is deposited in the reaches of the Eel River. The underlying rocks of the RNA are all greywacke sandstones and shales, the greywacke has a muddy, brownish-gray sandstone appearance, ranging from rather soft and crumbly in weathered outcrops to solid rocks and boulders in the stream bed of the Rice Fork. Some recreationists use Crabtree Hot Springs which is adjacent to the boundary of the RNA. The Rice Fork is also used for recreation, but entry into the RNA is minimal. There is an increase in risk of wildfire due to human use at the hot springs. Salt Creek is one of the tributaries, and flows from Fir Root Spring. Bear Creek flows from a spring at about 6,500 feet on the southwest side of Snow Mountain-West, Rice Creek begins at about 6,100 feet on the west ridge of Snow Mountain-West. Willow Creek begins at about 3,400 feet on Horse Mountain and flows northeasterly for about 5 miles down a steep canyon, Forest Road 17N04 crosses both Rice Fork and Salt Creek at their confluence. Forest Road M-10 crosses Rice Fork a short distance downstream from its confluence with Bear Creek, Forest Road M-10 bridges Bear Creek at its confluence with Blue Slides Creek

33.
Mattole River
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The Mattole River is a river on the north coast of California, that flows northerly, then westerly into the Pacific Ocean. A short section of the flows through northern Mendocino County. Communities, from north to south, closely associated with the Mattole River include, Petrolia, Honeydew, Ettersburg, Thorn Junction, the river enters the ocean at the Mattole Estuary about 4 miles west-southwest of Petrolia and 10 miles south of Cape Mendocino. Mattole refers to an Athabaskan Indian people, the Mattole and they historically called themselves Mattóal or bedool, but were called by neighboring Wyott Indians Medol or metuul. The Mattole lived principally on the Mattole and Bear rivers and this war-like tribe was practically exterminated because of its resistance to white settlers during the Bald Hills War. The local tradition is that Mattole means clear water, the river and its 74 tributaries drain about 304 square miles, including the eastern side of the King Range, and flows through Mattole Valley before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. Although the Mattole Rivers source is at about 1,780 feet elevation, the North Fork of the Mattole River enters the river main stem just west of Petrolia. For most of its length, the river is only a 4.2 miles east of the King Range National Conservation Area, about halfway to the ocean, near Honeydew, California, the river passes by Humboldt Redwoods State Park. There are numerous tributaries and creeks that feed the drainage area, some of the largest are the Upper North Fork at Honeydew, Honeydew, Bear, Rattlesnake, and Oil Creeks. The Mattole River has been declared a 303 impaired waterbody that flows into a Marine Protected Area, the river is used for recreation and agricultural, municipal and industrial water supply. It also provides wildlife habitat including cold freshwater habitat for fish migration, the Mattole River is home to three salmonid species listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act, chinook and coho salmon, and steelhead. Coho salmon are listed as threatened under the California State Endangered Species Act. In 2010-2011 ten coho were counted and five redds, but these numbers are still 95% lower than 2006-2007, each salmon run is on a three-year cycle. Recently the group planned a project to decrease winter runoff. This suggests that re-establishment of beaver populations would be 80 times more effective in recovery efforts than large woody debris placement alone. Riparian zones of the Mattole also support Bigleaf maple, Red alder, Fremont cottonwood, Oregon ash, arthur W. Way County Memorial Park is on the north bank of and adjacent to the river. List of rivers in California Mattole Restoration Council Mattole Salmon Group Sanctuary Forest

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Usal Creek
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Usal Creek is the southernmost drainage basin unbridged by California State Route 1 on Californias Lost Coast. The unpaved county road following the westernmost ridge line south from the King Range crosses Usal Creek near the Pacific coast, but the bridge may be removed during winter months. Usal Creek,9.7 miles long, drains about 28 square miles on the Mendocino Coast, Usal Creek drains a valley between two ridges of the California Coast Ranges. The longer North Fork drains southeasterly from springs once providing a supply for the empty town site of Kenny, while the shorter South Fork drains first southwesterly. The main creek flows southwesterly from the confluence through a gap in the coastal ridge, tributaries flowing southwesterly off the interior ridge include Julias Creek into the South Fork, and Soldier Creek, Little Bear Creek, Bear Creek, and Chimney Rock Creek into the North Fork. The crest of the interior ridge parallels the Pacific coast approximately 4 miles inland, robert Dollar purchased Usal Redwood Company in 1894. Dollar Lumber Company was running out of timber for their Guerneville mill at the time, in 1896, Dollar purchased the steamship Newsboy to transport lumber from Usal to San Francisco. A fire in 1902 destroyed the sawmill, a warehouse, a house. The railroad was dismantled, and the rails were used by the sawmill at the mouth of Big River, several buildings including a hotel survived until destroyed by fire in 1969. The former hotel site near the mouth of Hotel Gulch is now a campground for Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, ninety-eight percent of the watershed is in private ownership growing forest products. Redwood coniferous forest covers approximately 70 percent of the watershed and montane or riparian hardwood forest covers approximately 20 percent, only two residences remain in the watershed

35.
Ten Mile River (California)
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Ten Mile River is a river in northern Mendocino County, California, United States. It is named for the fact that its mouth is 10 miles north of the mouth of the Noyo River. The middle and north forks of the river are each 15 miles long, the watershed of Ten Mile River is neighbored on the south by the Noyo River and on the east and north by the South Fork Eel River. 75 acres of salt marsh provide a habitat for many birds, the Ten Mile River basin has been logged continuously since the early 1870s. At first, trees were cut using single-bladed axes and dragged by oxen to mills at Fort Bragg, railroad lines were introduced on the South Fork in 1910 and on the other parts of the river in the 1920s. The timber on both sides of the river was logged by the Georgia Pacific Company until 1999, when Georgia-Pacifics holdings in the area were acquired by the Hawthorne Timber Company, Timber in the area is logged on a 60-year rotation. With some plunging, spurring, and kicking, the side was gained in due time. Later, the river was spanned near its mouth by a bridge on California State Route 1, a concrete beam bridge replaced an older wooden deck truss bridge in 1954. After studies found that the 1954 bridge was insufficiently earthquake-safe, a new box girder bridge on Highway 1 was constructed in 2009. The new bridge is 45 feet wide and 1,479 feet long, the river is used for navigation, recreation, and municipal, agricultural, and industrial water supply. The river also provides groundwater recharge and wildlife habitat including cold freshwater habitat for fish migration, as with many rivers in the area, the Ten Mile River is subject to environmental problems caused by logging. Cold freshwater and estuarine habitats are also designated beneficial uses of the Ten Mile River watershed. The spawning population of salmon in Ten Mile River has been observed to decrease from an estimate of 6000 fish in the early 1960s to much lower numbers ranging from 14 to 250 in the 1990s. The Ten Mile River mainstem begins at the confluence of North Fork Ten Mile River and Middle Fork Ten Mile River, the North Fork Ten Mile River begins at elevation 2,400 feet. The Middle Fork Ten Mile River begins at elevation 2,460 feet on the side of Sherwood Peak. List of rivers of California KRIS Ten Mile project, Klamath Resource Information System, California Watershed Browser - Ten Mile River

36.
Noyo River
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The Noyo River is a river on the north coast of California in Mendocino County. The rivers headwaters are in the steep Mendocino Range, but downstream the river flows through gently sloping marine terraces before draining into the Pacific Ocean, the average annual rainfall is between 40 inches and 65 inches. European settlers transferred the name from Pudding Creek to the river to the south. The name Pudding Creek is thought to be a corruption of put-in creek - a term used by sailors to identify the uniquely sheltered mouth of the Noyo River, the two names were switched in the 1855 Coast Survey report. The watershed has been logged for timber since the 19th century, historical logging practices, particularly widespread clear-cutting, caused severe erosion, which led to excessive sediment buildup in the river and its tributaries. In addition, large woody debris that trapped sediment was removed from the streambed to improve flows, Noyo River estuary is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy. In 1998, the river was listed as sediment impaired by the State of California North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, the watershed is slowly improving, but it is far from full recovery. Timber production continues to be the land use in the watershed. About half of the land is owned by Mendocino Redwood Company and Hawthorne Timber Company, jackson Demonstration State Forest, owned by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, makes up about one fifth of the watershed. The rest of the land is split into parcels, such as ranches. Public land is limited to the state forest. Three anadromous fish inhabit the Noyo River, steelhead, coho salmon, and chinook salmon. Steelhead are listed as threatened, coho listed as endangered, non-salmonid species in the watershed include the three-spined stickleback, Pacific lamprey, and sculpin. However, recent surveys have found no fishers or martens. at Camp Noyo, there are at least 20 California Western Railroad crossings of the river visible in aerial photos. The State Route 1 bridge built in 2005 replaced a truss bridge that was built in 1948. State Route 1 is known as the Shoreline Highway to the south, originally proposed in 1998, the bridge was redesigned with railings that allow scenic views to be seen from the bridge after local protest. California State Water Resources Control Board Klamath Resource Information System Noyo River, California Coastal Watersheds - Noyo River California Western Railroad List of rivers in California

37.
Big River (California)
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The Big River is a 41. 7-mile-long river in Mendocino County, California, draining an area of about 181 square miles. The Big River watershed borders the watersheds of the Noyo River to the north, the Eel River and Russian River to the east, and the Little River, Albion River, and Navarro River to the south. The rivers headwaters are thirty miles inland from the Pacific Ocean in the Mendocino Range, the headwater area of the river is fed by Montgomery Creek as it flows through the upland riparian habitat and virgin redwoods of Montgomery Woods State Reserve. From there, the river flows roughly west through Jackson Demonstration State Forest, the Big River is fed by precipitation,90 percent of which falls between October and April, and which averages 40 inches per year at Fort Bragg near the coast and 51 inches at Willits inland. Winter weather is characterized by low intensity rain, the summers are dry and cool, with coastal fog. The river provides recreation and groundwater recharge for agricultural and industrial water supply for the community of Mendocino, the Big River has an estuary at its mouth that provide habitat for a wide variety of organisms. Salt water from the ocean reaches 8.3 miles upstream in the summer and 3 miles in the winter, the mouth, which closes in the summer on some rivers, stays open all year. The river provides wildlife habitat including cold freshwater habitat for fish migration, California golden beaver were restored to Big River in the early to mid-twentieth century despite extirpation in the California Fur Rush of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. A specimen was collected by J. G. Hall 10 miles east of Mendocino on the Big River at elevation 200 feet in 1966 for the California Academy of Sciences mammal collection, timber production is the primary land use in the area. The California Lumber Company built the first sawmill on the Mendocino County coast at the mouth of the river in 1852, by 1873, the name had changed to Mendocino Lumber Company and the mill was the most important in Mendocino County. A railway line extended 9 miles up the Big River to bring logs to the mill, the mill operated until 1931, and was briefly reopened in 1938 to mill logs salvaged when a log raft broke up off the coast. The North Fork Big River was logged by the Caspar Lumber Company, logs were transported 35 miles to the sawmill in Caspar from Camp 20 at California State Route 20 milepost MEN17.3 by their Caspar, South Fork and Eastern Railroad. Caspar Lumber Company timberlands became Jackson Demonstration State Forest in 1955, list of rivers in California California Watershed Browser - Big River Watershed

River
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A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water, small rivers can be referred to using names such as stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill. There are no off

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The River Cam from the Green Dragon Bridge, Cambridge (United Kingdom)

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Nile River delta, as seen from Earth orbit. The Nile is an example of a wave-dominated delta that has the classic Greek letter delta (Δ) shape after which river deltas were named.

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A radar image of a 400-kilometre (250 mi) river of methane and ethane near the north pole of Saturn's moon Titan

U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of

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U.S. states

California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and th

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A forest of redwood trees in Redwood National Park

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Flag

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Mount Shasta

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Aerial view of the California Central Valley

Trinity River (California)
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The Trinity River is a major river in northwestern California in the United States, and is the principal tributary of the Klamath River. The Trinity flows for 165 miles through the Klamath Mountains and Coast Ranges, with an area of nearly 3,000 square miles in Trinity. Designated a National Wild and Scenic River, along most of its course the Trini

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Trinity River (Hupa River)

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States and counties

Humboldt Bay
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Humboldt Bay is an American natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County. The largest city adjoining the bay is Eureka, the center and county seat of Humboldt County. Commercially, this second largest estuary in California houses the largest oyster productio

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Aerial view of Humboldt Bay and the City of Eureka

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1852 U.S. Coast Survey map of Humboldt Bay.

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View of the Middle Channel of Humboldt Bay and Indian Island taken on Woodley Island. Note the Memorial to lost fisherman in the foreground.

Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the

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Maris Pacifici by Ortelius (1589). One of the first printed maps to show the Pacific Ocean; see also Waldseemüller map (1507).

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The Pacific Ocean

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USS Lexington under air attack on 8 May 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea

Smith River (California)
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The Smith River is a river on the Pacific coast of extreme northwestern California, in the United States. It is about 25.1 miles long, all in Del Norte County, and it flows through the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The Smith River is formed by the confluence of its middle a

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The mouth of the Smith River as it enters the Pacific Ocean

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US 199 along Smith River

Klamath River
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The Klamath River flows 263 miles through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second largest river in California after the Sacramento River and it drains an extensive watershed of almost 16,000 square miles that stretches from the arid country of south-centra

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The Klamath River in the high desert country of Northern California

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Map of the Klamath River watershed

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The Klamath River approaching its mouth on the Pacific, near Klamath, California

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Klamath River watershed boundaries

Redwood Creek (Humboldt County)
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Redwood Creek is a 61. 8-mile river in Humboldt County, California. Redwood Creek begins near Board Camp Mountain in the Coast Ranges near Dinsmores, the streams headwaters lie at about 4,400 feet above sea level, in a network of small unnamed streams along the north sides of a ridge abutting the Mad River valley to the south. It flows north throug

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Redwood Creek seen with a herd of Roosevelt Elk on its banks

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Map of Redwood Creek basin

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Redwood Creek in Redwood National Park

Little River (Humboldt County)
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Little River is the largest Pacific coastal drainage basin between the Mad River and Big Lagoon. Its 19.6 miles of river drains forested Franciscan assemblage of the California Coast Ranges, the lowermost mile of channel is through Quaternary alluvium and dune sand of an estuarine floodplain typical of coastal inlets along the Cascadia subduction z

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Little River Estuary

Mad River (California)
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The Mad River is a river in upper Northern California. The rivers headwaters are in the Coast Range near South Kelsey Ridge, today, among these distinct groups, only the Wiyot-affiliated Blue Lake Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe and holds lands in trust for its citizens. The Whilkut, Nongatl and Lassik were essentially annihilated during

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Mad River about 15 miles (24 km) above the mouth

Copper Creek (California)
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Copper Creek is a southern tributary of the Klamath River in the U. S. state of California. Arising in the Klamath Mountains, the creek drains a watershed of about 120 square miles. Historically, Copper Creek was the site of at least one Hupa Native American village, the origin of the name comes from the peach-colored cliffs that line the lower few

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States and counties

Boise Creek
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Boise Creek is a stream in Humboldt County, California, United States. From its origin on Orleans Mountain it flows 8.5 miles to join the Klamath River about 2.25 miles southeast of Orleans, the creek lies within the Six Rivers National Forest and is part of the Lower Klamath River Watershed. In addition, the dams have blocked access for salmon spa

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Bedrock Falls blocks salmon passage up Boise Creek from the Klamath River

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Proposal to Engineer Logjam to Divert Boise Creek to Bypass the Falls and Provide Salmon Passage courtesy of Mid Klamath Watershed Council

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States and counties

Salmon River (California)
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The Salmon River is a 19. 6-mile-long tributary to the Klamath River in western Siskiyou County, California. The river has its origins in the mountains of the Trinity Alps, Russian Mountains. The Salmon River comprises two forks, the North Fork and the South Fork, which join at the hamlet of Forks of Salmon, California to form the mainstem Salmon R

Scott River
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The Scott River is a 60-mile-long river in Siskiyou County, California, United States. It is a tributary of the Klamath River, one of the largest rivers in California, historically, fur trappers called the river the Beaver River, before the Hudsons Bay Company nearly extirpated beaver from the area in the early 19th century. Scott Valley was first

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States and counties

Shasta River
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The Shasta River is a tributary of the Klamath River, approximately 58 miles long, in northern California in the United States. It drains the Shasta Valley on the west and north sides of Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range, the river rises in southern Siskiyou County on the edge of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, approximately 10 miles southwest

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Shasta River from State Route 263

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States and counties

Lost River (California)
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Lost River begins and ends in a closed basin in northern California and southern Oregon in the United States. The river,60 miles long, flows in an arc from Clear Lake Reservoir in Modoc County, California, through Klamath County, Oregon, to Tule Lake in Siskiyou County, about 46 mi of Lost River are in Oregon, and 14 miles are in California. From i

Hayfork Creek
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Hayfork Creek is a tributary of the South Fork Trinity River in Northern California in the United States. At over 50 miles long, it is the rivers longest tributary and is one of the southernmost streams in the Klamath Basin, the watershed of the creek was originally inhabited by the Wintu people. Human habitation in the basin goes back for more tha

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Hayfork Creek

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Map of the South Fork Trinity River basin, showing Hayfork Creek to the right of the main stem.

Prairie Creek (California)
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Prairie Creek is the Redwood Creek tributary drainage basin including the inland portion of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Prairie Creek drains southerly through a Plio-Pleistocene non-marine sedimentary and metasedimentary formation to a confluence with Redwood Creek approximately one mile upstream of Orick, the southern half of the channel ex

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Prairie Creek within the aboriginal forest of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is shaded by an overstory of towering redwoods, an understory of riparian hardwoods, and the ferns and mosses of fallen trees on the forest floor.

Russian River (California)
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The Russian River, a southward-flowing river, drains 1,485 square miles of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual discharge of approximately 1,600,000 acre feet, it is the second-largest river flowing through the nine-county Greater San Francisco Bay Area. The Russian River springs from the Laughlin Range about 5 mi ea

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The estuary of the Russian River, north of Bodega Bay

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The Russian River downstream of Duncans Mills

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An Autumnal Sunset on the Russian River Evening Glow by William Keith, 1878

Duncan's Mills
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Duncans Mills is an unincorporated community located in Sonoma County, California. Duncans Mills was once part of the Rancho Muniz Mexican land grant, in 1877, Alexander Duncan established a sawmill in what is today Duncans Mills. The mills sent lumber to the city of San Francisco. The town was founded in the 1870s and it featured two hotels, a gen

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Duncans Mills, California Duncanville

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Bodies of water

Golden Gate
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The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, the strait is well known today for its depth and powerful tidal currents from the Pacific Ocean. Many small whirlpools and eddies can form in its

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The Golden Gate

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Fog enters San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate, seen here in August 2012

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The Golden Gate, looking south towards San Francisco. San Francisco Bay is on the left, and the Pacific Ocean is on the right.

Eel River (California)
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The Eel River is a major river, about 196 miles long, of northwestern California in the United States. The river and its tributaries form the third largest watershed entirely in California, the river flows generally northward through the Coast Ranges west of the Sacramento Valley, emptying into the Pacific Ocean about 10 miles downstream from Fortu

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The river near Dyerville, California

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Lake Pillsbury is formed by a dam built in 1921 near the headwaters of the Eel River

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Sediment-laden water in the Eel River after winter storms. NASA satellite image, 2012

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The lower Eel River in May

Salt River (California)
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It was historically an important navigation route until the early 20th Century. It presently intercepts and drains tributaries from the Wildcat Hills along the side of the Eel River floodplain. Efforts to restore the river began in 1987, permits and construction began in 2012, the California Coast Ranges are relatively young mountain ranges being t

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The Salt River restoration reopened the lower portion of the river to flow on October 9, 2013.

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Map of the Salt River

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The Valley Flower Creamery buildings in 2013

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The 1994 Dillon Road bridge

Van Duzen River
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The Van Duzen River is a river on the north coast of California. It is a tributary of the Eel River and drains 429 square miles, mostly in Humboldt County. The rivers elevation is over 5,000 feet at its source, the river has two forks in its upper reaches. The North Fork travels northwest until it reaches the town of Dinsmore. The Little Van Duzen,

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The Van Duzen River near its confluence with the Eel River. Westerly view, southbound US Route 101.

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The Robert J. Fisher bridge over Yager Creek in Carlotta, California

South Fork Eel River
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The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows 105 miles north from Laytonville to Dyerville/Founders Grove where it joins the Eel River, the South Fork drains a long and narrow portion of the Coast Range of California in parts of Mendocino and Humboldt counties.

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South Fork Eel River near the Avenue of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park

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Meander in the South Fork Eel River

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South Fork valley seen from Red Mountain above Cedar Creek

List of tributaries of the South Fork Eel River
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The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows 105 miles north from Laytonville to Dyerville/Founders Grove where it joins the Eel River, the South Fork drains a long and narrow portion of the Coast Range of California in parts of Mendocino and Humboldt counties.

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South Fork Eel River near the Avenue of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park

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Meander in the South Fork Eel River

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South Fork valley seen from Red Mountain above Cedar Creek

Bull Creek (Humboldt County)
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Bull Creek is the largest Eel River tributary drainage basin preserved within Humboldt Redwoods State Park. The basin contains the worlds largest remaining contiguous old-growth forest of coast redwoods, Bull Creek flows in a clockwise semi-circle around 3373-foot Grasshopper Mountain to enter the South Fork Eel River approximately 1.5 miles upstre

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Old-growth redwood forest of the Bull Creek floodplain

North Fork Eel River
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The North Fork Eel River is the smallest of four major tributaries of the Eel River in northwestern California in the United States. It drains a rugged area of about 286 square miles in the California Coast Ranges. It is formed in southern Trinity County deep within the Six Rivers National Forest by the confluence of its East and West Forks, the Ea

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Map of the Eel River drainage basin, including the North Fork Eel River

Middle Fork Eel River
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The Middle Fork Eel River is a major tributary of the Eel River of northwestern California in the United States. It drains a rugged and sparsely populated region of the Yolla Bolly Mountains, part of the California Coast Range, in Trinity and its watershed comprises roughly 745 square miles of land, or 20% of the entire Eel River basin. The river p

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Middle Fork Eel River near Round Valley, low water, 2008

Rice Fork
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The Rice Fork is a 22. 7-mile-long tributary of the Eel River in Lake County, California. The Rice Fork begins on the upper northwest side of Goat Mountain, on the Colusa-Lake County line, before the construction of Scott Dam in the 1920s, which formed Lake Pillsbury, the Rice Fork ran directly into the Eel River. It is one of Lake Countys longest

Mattole River
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The Mattole River is a river on the north coast of California, that flows northerly, then westerly into the Pacific Ocean. A short section of the flows through northern Mendocino County. Communities, from north to south, closely associated with the Mattole River include, Petrolia, Honeydew, Ettersburg, Thorn Junction, the river enters the ocean at

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Mattole River Estuary

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Logging train crossing the Mattole River mouth, circa 1900

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Climbing high to collect native seeds for restoration in the Mattole Watershed

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Volunteer replants native Douglas Fir on the river

Usal Creek
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Usal Creek is the southernmost drainage basin unbridged by California State Route 1 on Californias Lost Coast. The unpaved county road following the westernmost ridge line south from the King Range crosses Usal Creek near the Pacific coast, but the bridge may be removed during winter months. Usal Creek,9.7 miles long, drains about 28 square miles o

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Lost Coast viewed from the south side of Usal Creek

Ten Mile River (California)
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Ten Mile River is a river in northern Mendocino County, California, United States. It is named for the fact that its mouth is 10 miles north of the mouth of the Noyo River. The middle and north forks of the river are each 15 miles long, the watershed of Ten Mile River is neighbored on the south by the Noyo River and on the east and north by the Sou

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Ten Mile River, looking north from California 1

Noyo River
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The Noyo River is a river on the north coast of California in Mendocino County. The rivers headwaters are in the steep Mendocino Range, but downstream the river flows through gently sloping marine terraces before draining into the Pacific Ocean, the average annual rainfall is between 40 inches and 65 inches. European settlers transferred the name f

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Aerial view of the mouth of the Noyo River at Fort Bragg

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A new bridge was built in 2005

Big River (California)
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The Big River is a 41. 7-mile-long river in Mendocino County, California, draining an area of about 181 square miles. The Big River watershed borders the watersheds of the Noyo River to the north, the Eel River and Russian River to the east, and the Little River, Albion River, and Navarro River to the south. The rivers headwaters are thirty miles i

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Big River, from the Big River Unit of Mendocino Headlands State Park.

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Sacramento River from the old pumping station in Sacramento, California

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Map of the Sacramento River watershed

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The Castle Crags, a series of granite peaks rising above the upper Sacramento River canyon just to the right. Mount Shasta, the highest mountain in the Sacramento drainage, is seen in the distance.

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The Carquinez Strait, which connects the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Bay to San Pablo and San Francisco Bays, and then the Pacific. The channel formed from water flooding over the Coast Ranges from a gigantic lake that formed in the Central Valley a few hundred thousand years ago, when the rising mountains blocked the Sacramento's route to the Pacific Ocean.